The GIF (jif?) has been adding motion to still imaging since 1987. In the beginning, GIF animation was reserved for the pros; the only people building them were clip art enthusiasts and pre-social media innovators looking to take their content viral (remember the dancing baby?) But as the development of sharing technology launched video content into the forefront- more and more GIF images started popping up within internet space (thanks to a mixture of supply/demand and improved GIF generator technology.) Today, companies like Cinegif and Cinemegraphs.com are making it easy for small businesses to build beautiful GIF images designed to upgrade a marketing campaign or support a new wave of premium web advertising (this company has reported seeing 72% of its clients who’ve utilized animated GIF’s or cinemagraphs experience higher transaction-to-click rates.)

Marketing with GIF

Email Marketing

Looking to cut through email marketing noise? Perhaps a well placed, high-res GIF image is just the answer needed to spice up one’s ROI. With email marketing growing at about a 20% annual rate, marketers are looking harder than ever for techniques to instantly separate themselves from the field. A unique, flowing image certainly fits that bill. In fact, companies like Coca Cola, American Apparel, and HubSpot are already rolling out GIF animation in their email marketing structure.

Social Media

One of the most advantageous components of modern day GIF’s are how multidimensional they are. Video clips, memes, and multiple photography shots can all be edited to form one marketing tool. When GIF builders stumble upon a trending form of internet culture (such as memes last year) they can adapt their GIF’s to meet that model, share it on social media pages, and greatly increase their chances of promoting viral content.

Web Graphics

Maintaining an updated web graphic is important to most businesses looking to stay on top of a fast paced industry. After all, how many times does one view a clearly outdated site and claim, “wow these guys really have it together!” But designing online eye candy is more important than just saving face. Recruiting GIF technology to one’s site could boost ad revenues- as ad-men are continuously fascinated by both aesthetics and improved click-through rates (see top paragraph).